NBL

Nile Breweries Limited (NBL), a Uganda-based subsidiary of SABMiller, has officially opened a new $90m brewery in Mbarara, western Uganda.

The new facility is the second for SABMiller in the country after the first brewery built in 1956 on the River Nile in Jinja.

It underwent a $29m expansion in 2009, allowing the company to double its brewing capacity to 1.8 million hectolitres.

The Mbarara brewery will again allow the company to double its brewing capacity to 3.6 million hectolitres.

The capacity of the new brewery will be initially 650,000 hectolitres, which will be gradually expanded to 1.8 million hectolitres.

The new brewery will produce brands such as NBL’s flagship Nile Special, Club Pilsner, Eagle Extra, Eagle Lager, and Chairman’s Extra Strong Brew.

Construction on the Mbarara brewery began in February 2012, and the brewery has been operational since April 2013.

The brewery will provide direct jobs for around 180 people, and other indirect jobs through farming, consumer outlets and distribution.

SABMiller Africa managing director Mark Bowman said the growth potential in Uganda, particularly Western Uganda, is significant and the new brewery in Mbarara will allow them to realise the opportunity.

"Building a second brewery in Uganda is part of our strategy to invest in new capacity across Africa so that we are in a strong position to capitalise on the continent’s long-term beer market growth over the coming decades," Bowman added.

The construction of new brewery, expansion of Jinja brewery, and investments in malting and effluent treatment plants in 2011 has brought SABMiller’s total capital investments in Uganda to over $200m in the last five years.

Image: The Mbarara brewery will produce NBL Nile Special, Club Pilsner, Eagle Extra, Eagle Lager and Chairman’s Extra Strong Brew. Photo courtesy of SABMiller plc.